About the Director

Kurt Neale

Director / Producer

Independent filmmaker Kurt Neale is a native of Texas and has worked in 17 countries over the past 40 years as a filmmaker, photographer and storyteller. Kurt’s work unveils the complexities of sensitive subjects, provoking self-reflection while cumulating with the mysterious collision of truth and grace. Normie is his third feature documentary as director/producer.

His film Ask (2017, 81 min)–normalizing addiction and codependency while questioning, what everyone touched by the disease wants to know, can love survive it?–won Best Spiritual Film at the Breckenridge Film Festival. It also screened at numerous recovery-industry festivals and events, including The New Jersey Recovery Film Festival (Best Strength Film, Best Editor, and Best Cinematography), the Cape Town Recovery Film Festival and the REEL Recovery Film Festival and Symposium.

His work as director and cinematographer on more than 400 video shorts was followed by Compelling Love (2015, 93 min, Spotlight Documentary Film Gold Award), a documentary that invited both sides of the polarizing cultural debate around gender identity and sexuality, without political agenda, to connect with the other despite their differing beliefs or, even, offense.
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All of Kurt’s features have been inspired by his personal relationships. Each reflects his commitment to honor the depth and vulnerability of the human experience and to create a dialogue instead of pushing a specific dogma. His friends and family have not only served as inspiration, but also as cast and crew, including his wife of 39 years, Julie, and his children, Connor and Katie. Kurt and Julie live in Dallas, TX, but also love to escape to the mountains of Colorado.

ASK

Can love survive addiction and codependency?

2017 / ASK is an exploration of alcoholism, drug addiction, and codependency. The documentary explains these topics in a way not seen before. At 80 minutes, ASK explores real issues through real people’s stories, and provides clear cut hope and direction.

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Compelling Love & Sexual Identity

Connecting Beyond Tolerance

2015 / In a culture polarized by strong and often differing opinions, how can we connect with those whose beliefs, values, and lifestyles we find offensive? Over the past year, we traveled the country, posing this question to scores of people with different sexual orientations and gender identities. Compelling Love & Sexual Identity is the result of their answers: a thought-provoking and moving feature-length documentary film that captures their personal stories and candid responses.

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